Sometimes, we have to stay in hotels when we travel. Without good research, your hotel stay could be a regrettable experience. Luckily, you are in the right place. The tips here will make your next stay a great one!
Prior to booking a hotel, refer to TripAdvisor and similar online travel review sites. Reviews allow you to read about recent experiences at a hotel. Factor former guests’ reviews into your final decision.
Online Review Websites
Check online for great hotel deals. Often, the person booking your room won’t tell you about discounts available online. It is your responsibility to find any available discounts. Websites like Orbitz, Travelocity and Hotels.com usually have some great discounts.
Be sure to read online review websites prior to booking a hotel. Online review websites will allow you to see previous guests’ experiences at the hotels you are considering. Other customers can give you some valuable insight and help you choose the right place to stay.
When you get to your hotel room, look over the room before unpacking. Is the room clean and free from mildew or mold? Does the plumbing work right? Are there enough linens and towels? If you notice a problem, be sure to inform the front desk right away to have these problems resolved.
When checking for good prices at hotels, refer to online travel sites like Orbitz and Expedia. If you are in a hotel loyalty program, put your information in. You can also get additional discounts from any organization you are apart of, such as the AAA or the AARP.
In order to get the best hotel deals, always plan your trips weeks ahead of schedule, or even a few months. If you chose to book a month or even two ahead of your arrival date, you can get great discounts. You can save up to 50 percent, even on elite hotel chains.
Check with any membership programs for deals. Some of them may provide discounts on hotel stays. You may save ten percent or more. This can add up to big savings, even more so if you will be staying for many nights. It can add up to almost a free hotel night!
If your pet is coming to a hotel with you, there are a few things you need to do in preparation. Be sure that this hotel will be friendly to pets. Be sure to have plenty of plastic bags on hand to make pet cleanup easy. Finally, ask the hotel staff if you can have a room on the far end away from guests so that you don’t interfere with their visit.
You want to look at a number of different things when booking a hotel stay. The location of the hotel may be just as important than the price. Amenities like a swimming pool, a gym, free local calls or breakfast, and other amenities may be things that you prefer. Look for a hotel that provides you with the amenities that are a priority to you.
If you would like to treat your partner to a massage, be sure to make the appointment far in advance. Often the best masseurs and masseuses at top resorts are booked by name, so if you do your planning early, you can make your experience sublime.
Use online search tools for hotels. Any of those types of sites will help you get a great discount. They can also allow you to look at the average rates of a hotel. The websites can also help you decide the best time to take a trip and where you can eat, shop or sight-see.
Try out a green vacation. Green hotels can feature specialized recycling programs, may only use recyclable products and use environmentally friendly cleaning supplies. There are newer hotels that were built to be environmentally friendly. Some of the older hotels do implement green practices to be sure they are eco-friendly. You can ask a travel agent to pinpoint eco-friendly hotels, thus making sure your vacation doesn’t hurt the environment.
You don’t want to assume that the hotel you will be staying in is considered pet friendly. Call them ahead of time to see if they are even if the website they’re on says yes. Also ask exactly what they mean by pet-friendly, as there might be restrictions on certain breeds and sizes of pet that they allow on their premises.
The price of a hotel room is often a mix of many factors. Hotels give rooms a price based on what’s available. Try to book a specific room at least 24 hours ahead of time, but it’s even better if you book weeks ahead of schedule. This will get you the very best rate on your hotel room. Empty rooms don’t earn the hotel money, so they’re happy to cut the price and reserve a room.
If you belong to the AAA, see what kinds of discounts the hotel offers. You would be surprised where hidden discounts may be lurking. There are discounts at hotels around the country of 5 percent or more. These savings really add up.
Be careful not to make long distance phone calls on the hotel phone. If you don’t have a cell phone or the Internet, buy a calling card to keep with you during your trip. Many hotels now offer Skype connections via Wi-Fi. You can stay in touch with work or family without the high cost of a call from the phone in your room.
If you want to keep up your running regimen on the road, make sure that your packing list includes lots of running clothes and a GPS watch. Simply set an alarm or get a wake up call and take an early morning run. Even if you have to run down roads or the streets in the city, you can learn a lot more about the city when you get finished.
When checking your hotel accommodations for bed bugs, begin in the bathroom. This is the last room they are likely to be. That means that the bathroom is a great place to keep your bags while you check the rest of your accommodations for bedbugs. It’s safe for pets and kids too.
If you travel often, it’s a great idea to enroll in a hotel’s loyalty program. They offer benefits to people that stay at the same chain quite often. Some of the useful things that you can earn are extra upgrades, free nights, and late check-outs.
Always ask about the hotel’s smoking policy if you smoke. There are sometimes rooms designated for people who smoke. If so, you should avail yourself of this option. Certain hotels will charge you a steep fee if you get caught smoking in a room that is non-smoking. Be sure to follow the rules of the hotel.
Hotels Offer
Find out how the hotel handles pets. If you fear pets or have allergies to them, make reservations at hotels that have a strict no pets policy. The smells tend to stick around. Extra fees are sometimes imposed by hotels for guests who bring pets, but sometimes the fee is not too high. The fee charged may not be adequate to cover the extra cleaning needed to completely remove the odors.
There are membership programs that hotels offer for those that stay frequently at their chains. Similar to how you earn points from frequent flyer programs, hotels offer you similar rewards for your stay. As a result, you could have your next stay discounted or receive other benefits, like tickets to a show.
It is not always possible to check-in early. Therefore, don’t show up hours in advance, or you may be sitting around waiting for a while. The room has to be cleaned ahead of your check in. Check with the front desk if you arrive early, but do not be angry if they can’t get you in early.
Choose a green vacation if you care for the environment. There are several green hotels around. Some new hotels are built to green standards and are certified green. Hotels that have been around for a while may employ a variety of eco-friendly practices. Talk to your travel agent if you prefer to stay at this type of hotel.
Know what the industry term “walk” means when booking a room. Hotels will overbook, leaving you without a room. In such cases, the hotel “walks” you, or sends you to another hotel. Avoid this if you can, but if you must go someplace else, make sure the room you get is comparable to the one you booked, and you are paid to travel there.
The price of a hotel room is often a mix of many factors. Availability is one factor that plays a part in cost. If you can, make your room reservations only a day in advance. This will allow you to get a great price on a hotel room. Empty rooms don’t earn a hotel any money, so they are willing to slash the price.
Don’t be tempted to open bottled water! You may feel a bit parched shortly after checking in. This can tempt you to consume bottles of water from the mini-fridge. Hotels know this and charge more for bottled water. Check the hotel gym and see if they offer it for free. It’s best to simply pack your own bottled water.
Sign up as an AAA member to make hotel arrangements easier when you are traveling. Hotel and rental car discounts are available to AAA members. Parents can also often enjoy a free car seat that comes with some rentals.
It is possible to save money on travel by getting a package deal on your flight and hotel. It is not unusual for travel websites to provide large savings when a hotel is booked along with a rental car or a flight. To get the most from this service, compare rates of several different hotels and airlines.
Making a long distance call from a hotel room should be avoided. Use the Internet, instead. The hotel may even offer Skype calls via Wi-Fi. This saves you a ton of money.
You can often get a free upgrade of your hotel room. You can do this by going at the precise check-in time. Often the room isn’t quite ready at the exact time and the hotel will offer you an upgraded room instead.
See if the hotel is non-smoking or smoking. If you are not a smoker, you might want to choose a hotel that does not have smoking rooms. While you can book a non-smoking room, smoke can infiltrate your room and settle into your clothing. It is not unheard of for those who smoke to stay in non-smoking rooms and proceed to smoke. If you want to avoid smelling like cigarettes when you leave, you may wish to consider a non-smoking hotel.
When booking a room while you’re traveling, look for brochures, maps and other things that can help you. This allows you to call the hotel to book a room, instead of driving from one to another in search of a good deal.
You will probably have to visit a hotel many times in your life. Without due diligence, your hotel stay might stink. After reading the above article, you now have the needed information to find hotels that best suit your needs.
You can help ensure your stay is pleasant by tipping appropriately. While you’ll generally find that room service tips are included in the bill, that’s not always the case. Also, maid service is rarely tipped within the bill, meaning you should tip them yourself. This will keep the workers happy and keep them offering you tip-top service.